The Better Man: The Right Partner
by actionman81
Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up days, not decades, later in post World War 2 New York City. Can he handle life now that the war is over?
1. Chapter 1

"Give me your coordinates. I'll find you a safe landing site." Agent Peggy Carter spoke into the microphone.  
"There's not going to be a safe landing. I'm going to try and force it down." Captain America, Steve Rogers replied  
"I'll get Howard on the line, he'll know what to do." she grasped for ideas  
"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York. I gotta put her in the water." he was adamnant  
"Please, don't do this. We have time, we can work it out." she practically begged him  
"Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are going to die. Peggy... This is my choice." he was firm on his decision.  
However, so was she, "No" she forced herself to speak again, swallowing her sadness, "Give me your coordinates, now."  
"Peggy, – I" he began  
"You may be a Captain, but I still out-rank you" she practically barked into the microphone.  
On the Valkyrie, Steve thought about this. He wrestled with the controls and started to understand that the plane was too damaged to trust. The steering yoke barely moved to the right and left… but it did seem to go up and down. He leaned into the mike to make sure Peggy could hear him over the howl of the wind through the broken cockpit window.  
"I'm heading towards New York. I'm about – somewhere over the Arctic" he explained, "It would take some time, hours for me to reach, but this thing's on autopilot. I can't divert course without holding steering yoke down"  
"Find something to wedge under it" Peggy suggested, "Something to tie it with. A piece of cord or a necktie- anything"  
Steve glanced around. The bombs wouldn't go off by remote, and they weren't set on a timer. Only an impact might do anything, if at all. He could very well force the plane down and leap out. He let go of the control yoke for a moment, and rushed back to the cargo hold. One of the Hydra soldiers lay dead, or unconscious on the floor. Steve dragged him to the control panel, bashed his head into the back of the pilot's seat for good measure, and wedged the lifeless corpse under the control yoke, pointing it downward. Immediately, the plan headed into a nosedive. Steve braced himself against the radio controls and sent out his coordinates, as best he could manage. Hopefully, Peggy would reach them and find him soon enough. He snatched another Hydra soldier's jacket and shoved it on over his uniform. Grabbing a parachute from next to the loading hatch, he pulled it on and leapt out, hoping for the best. He fumbled with his handheld radio, knowing it wouldn't reach anyone from this distance, and watched as the aircraft nose-dived into the ice. It broke through the frozen sheets and plunged into the water. There was a delayed explosion from the impact and jets of icy water shot up into the sky. After what seemed like hours, but was closer to moments, Steve yanked the pull cord, and the chute opened up. He floated safely down to the ice floe below.

Hours, days later, without food and water, Steve Rogers lay, seemingly frozen solid, on the ice.  
That was where Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and the SSR search and rescue team found him.


	2. Chapter 2

"American women are so weak! You are coming with us!" Hitler's voice barked  
"If only Captain America were here to rescue me!" a woman shouted helplessly  
"Miss Carver isn't going anywhere with you, Nazi scum." a heroic male voice suddenly came into focus  
"Seize him!" the Nazi shouted again  
"Unhand her!" the hero yelled  
There were the sounds of fists flying, then landing on their mark.  
"Hit 'em again, Cap!" the woman cheered  
"Had enough yet?" the hero sounded glib  
There was a moment's pause,  
"Are you all right, Miss Carver?" he asked her  
"Captain America, what would I ever do without you!" her voice practically swooned  
Steve Rogers opened his eyes slowly. He blinked. Above him was an overhead fan. He glanced to his right. A small radio played a thrilling adventure program. He glanced to his left. A side table held a lamp but not much else. Steve sat up slowly. Dressed in a SSR t-shirt and khaki pants, he swung his legs over the edge of the iron bed and placed his feet gingerly on the floor.  
"Oh, you're awake" the door opened, and an American SSR agent walked in. Her dark curls looked like Peggy. He winced, remembering her. Would he ever see her again?  
"Good morning" she smiled and checked her watch, "or should I say Good Afternoon?"  
"Where am I?" he looked warily at her  
"You're in a recovery room in New York"  
Steve looked at her suspiciously, "Where am I really?"  
"I'm afraid I don't understand"  
"That radio program. It's – I've never heard it before." he got up from the bed, "Now I'm going to ask you again. Where am I?"  
The SSR agent pressed a button on her watch, "Captain Rogers-" she began  
Steve didn't wait for her to finish. He lunged for the door behind her.  
Two military police rushed in. Steve knocked them against the wall. He pushed the woman aside as gently as he could and ran through the open doorway. He found himself in a wood paneled hallway.  
"Code thirteen!" the female agent shouted from behind him. "Captain Rogers, wait!"  
Steve ran as hard as he could. He passed closed doors, windows, and continued running until the one voice that could stop him finally did.  
"Captain Rogers" her British lilt froze him in his tracks.  
Peggy Carter stood there, back down the hallway he'd just come from. One of the doors he'd passed hurriedly was now open, and she stood meters away from him. He'd been longing for her and he'd simply passed her by like she hadn't been there.  
"Sorry about that little ruse" Howard Stark walked out of the same open door and now stood next to Peggy, "We didn't know how to break this to you" he smiled  
"Break what to me?"  
"We won the war" Howard beamed.  
Steve smiled weakly. "Great" he nodded, "and our date?"  
"Oh, that's still on" Peggy smiled at him. "Next week, the Stork Club. Don't be late"


	3. Chapter 3

"Carter" Chief Dooley walked into the SSR bullpen. The day had started like any other. Peggy had woken, poured herself a cup of tea, and gotten ready. Before long, her flatmate, Colleen had arrived from her job as a factory worker. She'd pulled down the Murphy bed that Peggy had just pushed up into the wall. Of course, Colleen had no idea that Peggy's real job was as a SSR agent. She thought her roommate was simply a telephone operator.  
Unfortunately, most of the SSR, and especially Chief Dooley, saw Peggy as nothing more than actually that.  
"Carter" Dooley passed by her, "Agent Carter, we just caught a redball out of D.C. All hands on deck. Meaning cover the phones."  
Peggy picked up the receiver and spoke to Rose Roberts, who was in charge of the downstairs switchboard, "Rose, forward all calls to the briefing room." she looked Dooley square in the eye, "Covered. Shall we?"  
In the briefing room, Dooley started talking about Professor Erskine and his work  
"As you all know, Erskine was working on some sort of super soldier program, and all we got out of it was – a USO tour- at first"  
Peggy glanced down at her notes. She didn't dare stare him down.  
"Our research and development people have been working on replicating the formula, but some of the components were lost when Erskine was shot"  
"So what do you want us to do?" agent Raymond Krzeminski spoke up  
"I want you to sit on Howard Stark. Sit on him until he pops like a balloon. He was Erskine's next in command in terms of science, and I want to make sure he gives up all his information"  
Peggy couldn't take it anymore, "Sir, I really must object."  
Dooley frowned, "Why am I not surprised?"  
"I knew Howard Stark during the war." Peggy went on, "His help was invaluable. He may be a great many things, but he's not holding back key information"  
"We're all aware of your record, agent. I'm sure being Captain America's- liaison- " he drawled over the term, "brought you into contact with all sorts of interesting people. But the war's over. Let the professionals decide who's worth going after.  
"Sounds like Carter knew a lot of guys during the war." Krzeminski leaned over and joked with another agent.  
"What'd you say, Krzeminski?" agent Daniel Sousa perked up.  
"I wasn't talking to you." Krzeminski shot back  
"You owe the lady an apology." Daniel was firm.  
"Oh. You standing up for her now, Sousa? Better hurry. I don't have all day." he mocked the fellow agent, "Huh? No? Okay."  
He got up and left with the other agents, laughing along the way. Daniel pulled his forearm crutch from under the table and plugged his left arm into it. With some effort, he managed into a standing position, balancing on his prosthesis, and made his way around the table toward where Peggy stood, clutching her notepad. They looked at each other and smiled.  
Finally, Peggy spoke first,  
"Agent Sousa, about what you just did- "  
Daniel cut her off, "Ah, don't worry about it-"  
Then it was Peggy's turn to cut him off, "I wish you hadn't."  
Daniel looked confused, "You're an agent. They treat you like a secretary. I just wanted..." he went on  
Peggy didn't let him finish, She knew what he wanted, "And I'm grateful. I'm also more than capable of handling whatever these adolescents throw at me."  
Daniel smiled, "Yes, ma'am. Doesn't mean I have to like it."  
Peggy smiled warmly at him, "Well, that's another thing we have in common."  
Their moment was cut short when agent Jack Thompson poked his head into the briefing room, "Carter? Gonna be a little busy with your friend Stark. If you don't mind, these surveillance reports need to be filed, and... You're really so much better at that kind of thing."  
Peggy stared Thompson down, "What kind of thing is that, Agent Thompson? The alphabet? I can teach you. Let's start with words beginning with "A."  
Thompson shoved the papers into her hand. "Thanks, kid. Adios. Auf wiedersehen. Aloha." he walked away, not looking back for a moment.  
Sousa looked as Thompson went across the bullpen, "Poor guy. Heard he got his personality shot off in Iwo Jima."

Later that day, Peggy, under the guise of filing paperwork, went downstairs to the SSR storage room, a cavernous, warehouse sized cement room where metal bookcases stood in dusty rows, as boxes upon boxes of outdated, discarded or otherwise extraneous files were kept for storage.  
Peggy found the box she'd been looking for. "Project Rebirth" the box label read. She deftly opened it up, having brought it to an available tabletop. In a moment, she was swimming in a sea of emotion, as she opened Steve's file and glanced at a photo of him, pre-serum transformation, barely one hundred and ten pounds, soaking wet. In the photo, he looked not at the camera, but somewhere else. She remembered how she'd seen him that day, on the training field at Camp LeHigh in rural New Jersey.  
Abraham Erskine had decided that Steve was the man for their project, yet Colonel Chester Phillips had hoped that Gilmore Hodge, another solider would be better suited for the job. Hodge was a bully, rude, boorish, and most notably, a coward. This was found when Phillips threw a dummy grenade into the men's training exercises. All the soldiers had scattered, except for Steve Rogers. Of course, Peggy had rushed toward the grenade as well, but Rogers had beaten her to it, and had already flung his puny body onto the device, ready to shield his fellow trainees from the damage.  
That was the moment Erskine and Phillips had agreed that Rogers was their man.  
It was the moment that Peggy decided the same thing.  
Now, though, as she glanced at his photo, she knew that he was no longer the small, frail man. No, now he was tall, strong, strapping, a fine peak specimen of a –  
The sound of metal on metal pulled Peggy from her momentary remembrance.  
"Sorry" Daniel Sousa apologized quietly, "I still haven't gotten the hang of these"  
"It's fine." she looked at him with slight suspicion, "I can assure you, I don't do this often." she covered her emotion with a serious demeanor.  
"You know, after I got hit- at the field hospital, the chaplain asked me was there anybody I wanted to send my effects to, should, you know, the worst happen. I told him I didn't think my dad had much use for two pairs of green socks and an old paperback. Let him remember my life, you know? 'Course, I didn't die, which was inconvenient, because the chaplain had already trashed my footlocker. Still missing half my stuff. Can't find my leg anywhere." he laughed at his own morbid joke.  
Peggy looked sadly at him, "Daniel. You're one of the lucky ones."  
He had no idea how right she was.


	4. Chapter 4

Agent Carter entered Chief Dooley's office, coffee tray in hand, "Sir" she began  
"Yeah" he didn't look up from his paperwork, "Just leave it there"  
"Yes" she placed the tray down on the desk, but didn't leave.  
"What do you really want?" he finally looked up  
"I wonder if I might request a sick day."  
"What's the matter? Got a headache?" he scoffed, then under his breath, "Amongst other things."  
Peggy smiled sweetly, "Ladies' things.:  
Dooley looked visibly ill, "Oh, geez." he waived her away, "Yeah, sure, take the day. Go shopping, whatever makes you feel better."  
Peggy turned to leave, but stopped before the door, "Thank you for your understanding, Chief. Enjoy your coffee."  
"Sousa, Krzeminski" Dooley strode into the bullpen moments later. Peggy was nowhere to be found, "While Thompson is cracking down on Stark, I want you two to go over this paperwork of Erskine's. Find anything you can that connects him to Stark. Give me a reason that I can haul him in"  
"Erskine?" Ray Krzeminski looked up, dumbfounded.  
"No" Dooley let the papers fall on the desk with a thump, "Stark"  
Once he'd left them alone, the men pored over the paperwork.

Back at her apartment, Peggy had used her telephone to call her contact number for Howard Stark. Unfortunately, he wasn't picking up. No sooner had she put the receiver back on the cradle when the phone rang. Her roommate Colleen had gone out unexpectedly. Peggy answered the phone as fast as she could, lest it ring incessantly.  
"Peggy" it was Howard  
"There's some SSR men over here" he explained, "They're almost getting in my pants, and not the fun way" he gave a dry chuckle, "I know it's been awhile, but I could really use some help"  
"And you thought the best plan was to call me at home, while agents are swarming your mansion?"  
"It's a big place" he laughed, "and they can't be everywhere, certainly where I am right now"  
"Fine" she frowned, "I'll be there as soon as I can"  
"Don't bother" he quickly replied, "I've got handled, too".  
With that, he hung up.  
Peggy wasn't sure what Howard handling anything could lead to, and she was a bit concerned. Regardless, she had to unfortunately sit it out for the moment.  
Not wanting to waste her time, she picked up the telephone and dialed the United Service Organizations, the New York office, in particular.  
"Yeah, he's here" came the reply when Peggy had asked for Steve  
"I was hoping to hear from you" his voice came over the phone  
Peggy sighed in relief. She'd had so many nightmares come and go where Steve had perished in a crash. Thankfully, those fears had gone unheeded.  
"I thought we could meet for coffee- or lunch" she began  
"Sorry, Peggy" Steve sounded disappointed, "I've got a ton of work today"  
"Hold her closer this time" Peggy heard another man give an instruction  
"Look, I've got to go" Steve quickly said his goodbyes and before Peggy knew it, the call had ended.  
No sooner had she put down the receiver, her mind awash with niggling questions, than there was a rap at the door.  
Peggy glanced through the peephole but only saw a fedora staring back at her  
"Miss Carter?" a male voice asked from behind the door  
"Do I know you?" she couldn't see him properly  
"Oh, we haven't had the pleasure. But we may yet." the latch rattled and the doorknob shook, "You're coming with me." the voice instructed.  
Peggy didn't have to worry about bothering Colleen as she was out. She realized that her pistol was empty. She took the glass bottle of water by the front door, held it with one hand, opened the door with the other and smashed the glass bottle on the head of the man stood there, his hat in hand.  
The man crumpled on the floor.  
It was only then that Peggy noticed the man who stood next to the fallen gentleman.  
"You know. I called first." Howard Stark grinned, "Did you miss me?"  
Peggy yanked him in. Together they pulled the other man in and laid him on the bed.  
"They're saying that you're obstructing justice."  
"I'm saying that its a setup." he shot back. He glanced at the sleeping man, "I've been hassled by your colleagues"  
"So I've heard"  
"You know if I had the information, I'd hand it over"  
"A likely story" she smirked  
"I need you to help me out"  
"In what way?" she asked, "before I even think of saying yes"  
"I don't have the information, not written down, anyway" he began, "but I do need to get an invention from your lab- the SSR lab- seems like your men just traipsed in my house and walked off with a few items that I'd like back, one in particular"  
"Mr. Stark" the suited man on the bed looked at them groggily, "I don't feel rather well"  
"But when you're not beating the tar out of him, this fellow lying here is my butler, Edwin Jarvis. He'll help you in any way he can." Howard looked back from Jarvis to Peggy,"I owe you one, pal."

Jack Thompson threw some sheaves of paper down on the desks where Sousa and Krzeminski were woroking  
"I'm heading out. Make sure the chief gets this when he gets back."  
"Sure" Krzeminski mumbled, but Thompson wasn't listening.  
"They tore up Stark's mansion, but didn't find anything" Krzeminski read from the files  
"Hey, you can read" Thompson mocked him  
"Go jump off a pier" Krzeminski shot back  
"Nice" Daniel smirked, "Do you kiss your wife with that mouth or your girlfriend?"  
"Congrats, Sousa." Thompson quipped, "You are the brains of the night shift." he put his hat back on, "You ladies have a good night." he walked to the door  
"You know, the tip about Stark's digs was a gift from me. Least you could do is cover my shift, you rat bastard." Krzeminski complained  
"I thought you were gonna ask Carter." Daniel queried  
"I was. I did. She acted like I was waving a sock in front of her face. And then she was gone"  
"I'm sure you were polite and respectful as always." Sousa glanced over the papers  
"You sweet on her, Sousa?" Krzeminski smirked  
"Don't you have enough women in your life to worry about?" Daniel laughed, eyes still glued on the paperwork  
"All right, I'm gonna give you a nickel's worth of free advice, pal." he paused for effect, "Give it up." he went on, "No girl's gonna trade in a red, white, and blue shield for an aluminum crutch."  
Daniel stopped laughing. He stared at the papers but wasn't really reading anything anymore. Krzeminski made a very valid point. Peggy had Steve; what would she ever think about someone like him?  
Daniel pored over the paperwork in hopes of distracting himself from those troubling thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

After Peggy had helped Howard pull Edwin Jarvis back to Howard's car, she grew tired of doing nothing. She'd hoped that Howard would have had some information, something for her to do. She'd already taken the afternoon off of work, and there was no sense going back, simply to be harangued into menial or secretarial tasks when she knew she was more than adequately equipped for much more than just that. She made up her mind.  
A short bus ride from her apartment down to the United Service Organization's New York office put her closer to Steve. She soon found her way to the particular office she'd wanted. Unfortunately, Steve, as well as everyone else there, hadn't expected her to arrive.  
"No no" a male voice could be heard from inside, "That's not right," there was a pause, "Like this"  
Then, she heard Steve's voice reply, "Oh, ok"  
That was a first, she thought.  
Peggy slowly opened the door, but was unpleasantly surprised to see Steve, dressed in his original Captain America outfit of tights and a cloth mask, standing before a white drop-cloth used as a background, holding tight a blonde model who was dressed up in a nurse's uniform.  
"Oh, Peggy" he smiled broadly  
"Yes, like that!" the other man across from Steve nodded, "but her name's Betty"  
"No" Steve shook his head, "Agent Carter" he left the model and deftly strode towards where Peggy stood near the open door.  
"I see you had no problems finding some work" she eyed the blonde, but spoke to Steve.  
"It's not like that" he yanked off the mask and stumbled over his words, "It's just a photo shoot, it's not – doesn't mean- really anything"  
Peggy sighed, "You still have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?"  
Steve put on some false bravado, "Hey, I've got a job and I'm doing something productive"  
"By being a piece of meat hanging from a butcher's hook?" her eyes were cold  
"Hey, this is going to be for the Captain America Adventure Program" he explained, "It'll be a great boost for the sales"  
"Is that Senator Brandt I hear?" she cast him a withering look  
"At least he's got me doing something after the war. Phillips would have had me stuck back in lab." he blustered, "like before"  
"And these are your only two options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this. You know that" she sighed, "and we've had this conversation before" she went on, "you know that, too"  
"Yeah" he finally exhaled,  
"You've got your work cut out for you" she eyed the model, who was touching up her lipstick, "and I've got an afternoon available" she sighed, "I was hoping that you'd be free for lunch or coffee, something because I haven't seen much of you since-" her voice uncharacteristically trailed off  
"I know" he agreed, "but I've got a few more photos left to take" he thumbed back towards the photographer, "Maybe later, ok?"  
"Perhaps" she nodded and headed back towards the door. Peggy turned back to see Steve, mask on again, pulling the blonde towards him for the camera. "Hopefully just for the camera" she thought to herself.  
"Kiss her" the photographer instructed.  
Peggy left the room, not wanting to see all that would go on. There was only one place she felt remotely comfortable, and it wasn't at work.

Back at SSR headquarters, Daniel had had it, "This is a dead end" he slammed his crutch against a filing cabinet.  
"Do you need a nap, Sousa?" Krzeminski joked  
Daniel shot him a hard stare. That kept Ray quiet.  
"We're spinning our wheels here" Daniel explained, "There's not connection between Stark and Captain America's serum- Erskine's serum that is" he spun back around, facing Krzeminski. "If there was something, we'd have found it already. Honestly, I'm just about ready to go to the source myself"  
"Yeah, and while you're there, why don't you slap him with a glove already" Ray mocked  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Daniel queried angrily  
"Come on Sousa, everyone knows you're following Carter around like a lap dog. Why don't you just give it a rest" he glared back, "she'd sooner leap on a grenade than waste time with you"  
"How about I go tell your wife about your girlfriend?" Sousa shot back.  
"How about I put your crutch somewhere you'll never lose it" Ray countered, "or better yet, your leg"  
Chief Dooley stormed out of his office, "Both of you, quiet down. What am I running here, a nursery?" he yelled, "it's bad enough I can't see my own children, but I got to listen to you two bicker like ones?"  
"Sorry chief" Krzeminski apologized quickly  
"Yeah, sorry" Sousa did as well, "we're working on the Stark angle"  
"See that you do" Dooley stalked back to his office and slammed the door.

At the The L&L Automat, Peggy gave the menu a cursory glance. Everything edible sat in glass cases, ready to be removed and heated up or eaten cold. She wasn't here for the food anyway.  
"What's wrong, English?" Angela Martinelli, known to her friends, and of course to Peggy, as Angie, leaned against the counter.  
"It's been a trying day"  
"Work?" Angie asked  
"I rather wish it was that simple" Peggy explained, "Since the war's been over, it seems that whatever we women had proved that we could do has gone simply for naught" she sighed, "and to top it off, I seem to be having trouble in an area that I mostly did not expect"  
"What's his name?" Angie gave a knowing look  
"I um- he and I used to work together"  
"Office romances never work out" Angie explained, "There was this boy I used to see, back when I was trying out for some radio commercials," she began, "No- it was that show, you know, the Captain America Adventure Program"  
"Yes, I'm familiar with that" she sighed. Peggy absolutely did not want to hear more about that infernal radio show  
"We went out a couple of times, but then he got a part for some dish soap announcing and he never called me again" she lamented, "not that Miss Fry would've let him visit me upstairs anyway-" she went on  
"Angie" Peggy interrupted, "if you – um- how do I put it?"  
"You're seeing him, aren't you?" Angie questioned  
"Yes, I suppose"  
"and he's not proposing and he's not being faithful, then maybe you should drop him"  
"It's not that simple actually-" Peggy continued, "I was somewhat instrumental in him acquiring his current position, his job as it were, but it seems like we're just- oh, what was that song- on the Sweet Marie record"  
"Are you lonesome tonight?" Angie answered  
"I'm lonesome, doll" a male customer grinned  
Angie rolled her eyes at him, and turned back to Peggy, "Is that the song?"  
"Yes, it is" Peggy didn't feel any better knowing the information, "That line, "I'm sorry we drifted apart", I suppose that's how I feel about him"  
"What was it that brought you two together?" Angie was genuinely concerned.  
"As much as I hate to say it, the war brought us into each other's lives"  
"And now that we're at peace, you must feel like nothing's really holding you two together"  
"Quite" Peggy nodded in agreement  
"What was it about him that attracted you to this guy?" Angie posed the question, "Anyone I know?"  
"I suppose" Peggy sighed, "but I'd rather keep that quiet for now"  
"Right, all hush hush because of work. Wow, that telephone company really is wild, huh?"  
"You have no idea" Peggy smiled, "I suppose what drew me to him initially was that we were so much alike- he understood what it was like to have any opportunity available closed off because of who he was, much like how it is for me" Peggy explained, "he was courageous, and intelligent, and he never let anything get him down. We were so much alike"  
"And now?"  
"Now, he's just- so different" Peggy thought aloud, "he's the same man inside, I think, but he's changed so much otherwise; he's – become accepted in the greater scheme of society, while I'm still-"  
"On the outside, looking in?" Angie supplied  
"Essentially, yes" Peggy sighed.  
"But that's not all, is it?" Angie gave Peggy a knowing look  
"How did you know that?" Peggy looked surprised  
"I have my ways" Angie smiled like the cat that had eaten the canary, "so go on, who's this other guy?"  
"He's – uh- well- um – I-"  
"Oh, you really do like him, don't you?" Angie's eyes grew wide as saucers.  
"I work with him as well" Peggy found herself blushing a bit, "he's rather kind, and chivalrous, even though I don't really need him to do that for me" she continued.  
Angie stared hard at her, in a concerned way, "It sounds like this other guy's a real catch. If you don't want him, how about we double date?"  
"That might not be too bad an idea" Peggy smiled.  
"My shift's almost done" Angie changed the topic, " I got a bottle of Schnapps and half a rhubarb pie. Let's see which one makes us sick first"  
"I really must get back to-" Peggy began, meaning to say either work, which she'd forgotten was done for the day for her, or Steve, which she really had no desire to speak with for the moment.  
"Your fella, or the job?" Angie quipped.  
"You're right" Peggy nodded in agreement, "Let's go back to your place"


	6. Chapter 6

At the Griffith Hotel, Angie showed Peggy around, "You know, if you moved in here, we could be neighbors"  
"Oh, I don't know if they'd want someone with such a mundane job like mine"  
"Nonsense" Angie gushed, "You'd fit in great here"  
Just then, a few of the tenants walked towards them as they headed to the front door.  
"Hi, Mary!" a well dress woman passed Angie.  
Angie turned to Peggy as an aside, "That's Mary. She's legal secretary at Goodman, Kirksberg and Holloway."  
"Oh, hi Evelyn." Angie smiled at another well dressed woman, "Evelyn is a lounge singer at a club in midtown." she spoke quietly to Peggy  
Another woman smiled as she passed Angie  
"Hi, Sarah!" she replied and waved,  
To Peggy, she whispered, "That's Sarah. She's a slut."  
"I see" Peggy nodded  
Once they reached the front desk, Angie turned toward Miriam Fry  
"This is my friend, Peggy" she explained  
"How nice" she smiled. Then she turned serious, "You don't plan on having any gentlemen callers, do you?"  
"Uh, no, of course not" Angie shook her head  
"Good. No man has ever made past the first floor. I'll see to it" she was firm.  
"Yes, of course" Peggy smiled and nodded.  
As they walked away, Angie turned to her friend, "See, you don't want to end up like that, do you?"  
"I am hardly of that nature" Peggy laughed  
Upstairs, the Schnapps and the pie were good, and neither friend had enough to make themselves ill.  
The alcohol did however, give Peggy a more relaxed demeanor.  
"I've asked you here so many times" Angie began, "but you never said yes until now. How come?"  
"Every time I get near someone, they get hurt, usually badly" Peggy gushed, more vocally than she'd expected.  
"That can't be true. They really must work you down at the phone company" Angie wondered aloud.  
"It's true" Peggy implored, "In fact-"  
Before she could finish her statement, there was a knock on the door.  
"Coming" Angie called.  
"It's me, Lorraine" another tenant spoke from behind the closed apartment door, "Your friend has a gentleman caller"  
"Downstairs?" Peggy asked the question aloud  
"He's on the phone" Lorraine answered when Angie had opened the door.  
Peggy made her way downstairs and picked up the receiver that lay at the front desk.  
"Peggy" it was Howard, "I'm calling you from a secure location. But you might be in danger. Whoever wants that serum, and not just your colleagues, won't stop until they get it."  
"Are you alright?"  
"I'm ok, but I've got Jarvis and his wife here with me. I'm trying to keep everyone safe. I wanted to make sure you were, too"  
"I'm fine, I'm spending the day with-" Peggy began, "Oh god, Colleen" she realized aloud. "I've got to go"  
"Should I call you a cab?" Angie offered  
"Yes, actually, that would be most helpful" Peggy nodded in agreement.

Once the cab had reached her apartment complex, Peggy rushed upstairs.  
The door was already open. She feared the worst.  
She gingerly stepped inside, pistol in hand, ready for anything.  
Regardless, she wasn't prepared for what lay before her.  
The apartment was in shambles. Clothes everywhere, the dresser overturned.  
The bed, which had once been a light floral, was now splashed with red.  
And Colleen, beautiful, vivacious, determined, lay in a pool of blood, lifeless, staring blankly at the ceiling.  
Peggy knelt by the bed, and wept. She knew she had to find out who did this. Who had killed an innocent bystander whose only crime was knowing Peggy Carter.  
The only respite was that Angie hadn't traveled with her and was thus spared the tragedy.


	7. Chapter 7

"There's a connection between the murder of Collen O'Brien and the break in at Howard Stark's mansion" Peggy slammed her fist on the desk  
"There's nothing to connect the two" Jack Thompson laughed, "now go have a piece of chocolate or something to calm yourself"  
"Leave the real police work to the real agents" Ray Krzeminski chimed in, "And take the defective detective with you" he glanced over at Daniel Sousa.  
Peggy turned on her heels and left the room, not in a huff, but coolly.  
Daniel looked at the open briefing room door after her.  
"Do you have anything to add, Sousa?" Chief Dooley genuinely wanted to know.  
"Not right now, sir" Daniel looked at his paperwork  
"Fine, dismissed" Dooley let the agents go  
Daniel stood, let the others leave ahead of him, and went out to the bullpen to where Peggy sat hunched over her files  
"There has to be something here, something I've missed" she pored over the papers  
"Didn't Dr. Erskine and Howard Stark both work on the Super Soldier Serum" Daniel put in as he stopped by her desk.  
Peggy looked up, both shocked and surprised. "You read the file" she narrowed her eyes at him accusingly  
"After you left that day" Daniel admitted, "and after you took that photo" he gestured with his available hand to the framed photograph on her desk.  
"Anything else?" she sounded sarcastic  
"From the notes, it doesn't look like Stark had anything that Erskine didn't already have" Daniel summarized, "but you probably know that already." he wasn't snide nor condescending. He simply stated it as the fact it was.  
"I suppose you think that I – how did he put it- fondue with Howard Stark?"  
"Whatever you do, and whoever you do it with is no business of mine" Daniel sighed and walked back to his desk, leaned his crutch against it, and heavily sat down in his chair.  
"The only connection between Dr. Erskine and Howard is Steve" Peggy flipped the idea over in her mind. There was nothing left to do but go to the source.  
Peggy put a call through to the USO offices

"Ok, you can put him down now" the photographer instructed, "gently"  
Steve lowered the actor dressed in Nazi regale. The man nodded, smiled and pulled the false short mustache from his lip and unbuttoned the costume uniform shirt.  
Steve smiled back and pulled the simple cloth mask off his head.  
"You got a phone call" another employee spoke from the back of the room. Steve went to answer it.  
"We need to talk" Peggy's voice could be heard over the extension  
"I shouldn't have been so rude today" he apologized, "It was wrong of me and -"  
Peggy cut him off, "There's no time for that. Tell me this, you were the only connection between Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark, am I correct?"  
"As far as I know" Steve thought aloud, "He worked on it with the doctor" he was careful not to say the wrong thing among civilians.  
"The men here don't seem to care one whit about that connection, but it might be the reason there was a murder" she explained  
"Let me help out. I can handle any villain" he smiled  
"That may be the last thing we need right now" she was candid, "We never realized Hydra's plan until it was almost too late" she referred to Steve's first foray at heroism, when he'd chased down a Hydra assassin.  
"I thought you'd forgiven me for that" his tone changed. He knew exactly what she was referring to.  
"I had the man in my sights" she turned cold, "but I do not want to discuss this right now. How soon can you meet me downstairs at the phone company?"  
"I'll be there in half an hour"  
"Hurry" she implored.  
"Who has to hurry?" Daniel turned around in his desk. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he had heard her all the same.  
"It's not important" Peggy waived off his concern  
"If it's important to you, then it's important"  
Peggy stood and walked over to him, "There is a connection between Erskine and Stark" she spoke in hushed tones, "but it's Steve" she sounded intrigued.  
"Oh" Daniel sighed. It was obvious how he felt about Peggy.  
"I'll need your help" she was quiet, both so the other agents wouldn't hear, and if she had to be honest with herself, she detested having to ask for assistance.  
"Of course" he didn't hesitate for a moment  
Peggy glanced around. Nobody was paying any attention to them, "I suppose that's one good thing about being invisible"  
Peggy and Daniel made their way downstairs. Rose nodded as they left through the switchboard room and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.  
"Glad you're here" Steve walked up to them. He was no longer wearing his tights, but had on a shirt and slacks. He pushed a lock of blonde hair over to the side. "You don't really need backup" he looked at Daniel  
"I think we rather will" Peggy countered, "I can't risk talking about this where anyone can hear us" she went on, "so we'll just have to walk and talk" she smiled, "as the Americans say"  
The trio made their way to a red and yellow cab and then headed to Howard's mansion  
"Howard states that there's no real connection, but there is" Peggy explained once they'd reached the mansion, "And it's standing right here" she stared at Steve. "I know you and Howard were close, perhaps not as close as you were with Dr. Erskine" she continued, "but there has to be some connection. Certainly one that's large enough to kill anyone connected to this"  
"Usually, the most obvious solution is the one that works best" Daniel supplied  
"You'd think that" Steve smirked  
Daniel ignored the comment, "Hydra has to be behind this, but with Johann Schmidt out of the picture" he went on, "who's left?"  
"There were still a number of Hydra operatives" Steve thought aloud, "any number of them could be behind this. But why come back to Stark mansion when you said that the SSR already looked here"  
"The SSR is trained for a number of situations" Peggy explained, "but you have a particular connection that they probably overlooked"  
Daniel knocked on the door. Nobody answered.  
"Maybe you should knock louder" Steve frowned  
"Sure, can I borrow your head?" Daniel joked.  
A pale face appeared at the door, "Mr. Stark is unavailable right- oh, it's you Miss Carter" Jarvis smiled.  
"My apologies for that earlier mishap" Peggy walked in the foyer, "but we really need to look around"  
"I'm more than happy to assist in any manner that I can"  
"Thank you" Peggy smiled back, "but right now, we really do need to speak with Howard"  
"Unfortunately Mr. Stark is—" he began  
"I know, he's out" Daniel finished. Steve and he had followed Peggy into the mansion and had shut the door behind them both. "We just want to look around" he went on, "or what, Mr. Stark doesn't trust us?"  
"It isn't that" Jarvis was taken aback, "It's my job to make sure that everything is in order while Mr. Stark is unavailable" he paused in thought, "although he did say that he trusts you, Miss Carter, above all else" he finally turned and led them to the lab.  
Gadgets and electronics were strewn about the various tables and shelves. Evidently, the SSR had been here and had ransacked the place, looking for some connection between Stark and Erskine.  
Some spots on the shelves were bare, while others looked mislabeled. Something called "Midnight Oil" was missing, while something called the "Stark Heat Vest" held a metal orb instead.  
Steve leaned closer to the shelf, "I recognize that"  
"The heat vest?" Peggy looked incredulously at him  
"It shouldn't be called that" Steve frowned, "but it's something else. I just can't remember it now", he turned around, "either way, it hasn't got anything to do with me"  
"Let's keep searching" Daniel suggested, "something around here has to lead us to the answer"  
"Once we find out who's behind this, I'll give them what for" Steve smacked one fist into his open hand.  
"We cannot simply beat the answers out of whoever is responsible" Peggy looked shocked, "if someone's after Howard or you, there's a good chance that they may already have the information needed to come after either target"  
"I can stop them" Steve grinned.  
Peggy sighed wearily. It was one thing to hear Steve's braggadocio in the heat of battle, but now, at peacetime, it sounded incongruous to say the least.  
Meanwhile, Daniel was taking notes on a small pad of paper that he'd pulled from his jacket pocket, noting the names of missing items from the laboratory's shelves and also noting the seemingly mislabeled items. "If that thing looks important" he pointed at the metal orb, "We might need to hang onto it"  
"At least take note of it" Peggy agreed, "and for the moment, against my better judgement, we should take care of it. If anyone else, Hydra or otherwise, decides to return to finish their job, Howard, as well as any of his inventions, may be in danger"  
Edwin Jarvis came downstairs into the lab, followed by a petite redhead, "My wife Ana has just now informed me that she has some information that may—"  
Ana gently stopped him with her hand, "Mr. Jarvis, please" she smiled sweetly, "A day ago, when your SSR men arrived, they trooped in, and began looking everywhere. I did find it strange that some of the men did not speak with their commanding officer"  
"Chief Dooley?" Peggy queried  
"A man by the name of Thompson"  
"Of course, Agent Thompson was heading the investigation" Peggy realized aloud  
"Hang on a second" Daniel interrupted, "you're telling us that nobody but SSR agents were here recently, but stuff is missing and moved around?"  
"Essentially" Ana nodded  
"That means that we have a traitor in our midst" Peggy looked horrified, "A double agent"  
"Someone working for Hydra and the SSR" Daniel clarified  
Hesitantly, the trio looked from one to another, each with the same burning question in their minds, who was the double agent? Could they trust anyone? Even each other?


	8. Chapter 8

Daniel and Peggy made their way back to SSR headquarters at the phone company facade, while Steve headed back to the USO offices. On the way back in the cab, Peggy sitting between Steve and Daniel, they looked at each other with a palpable uneasiness. Nobody spoke. By the time they'd dropped Steve off, and were the only ones left in the backseat, they could barely look at each other.  
"It's – troubling" Peggy finally spoke, not looking at Daniel.  
"Yeah" he agreed, glancing furtively at her momentarily.  
Inside, Peggy was awash with questions. The concept of a double agent was nothing new, and had been part of her SOE training as well as later training in the SSR. A myriad of questions loomed in her head, among them were some that repeated,  
"Did anyone turn up out of nowhere, and get on famously with members within hours of joining?"  
"Did any agent speak of a wife or girlfriend at first, but suddenly leave her from conversations?"  
"Is someone real keen for our cause, but can't explain why? Or rather, overzealous, even urging other agents to do more?"

She glanced over to where Daniel sat as he worked on past cases. Her mind drifted to how Steve was different now. A memory washed over her, that time in the small airplane, flying over Hydra occupied Germany, with Steve ready to leap out though they hadn't reached their landing destination. He simply wasn't listening to her  
She's yelled at him, "You can't give me orders"  
"The hell I can't" he'd yelled back, "I'm a Captain"  
The statement had been with a smile on his face, but the sentiment had been all wrong. In truth, he was no more a Captain than she was the Queen of England, as Gilmore Hodge had joked with a smirk on his face. The memory brought a smile to her face, and she choked back the bitterness that tinged the thought.  
Daniel on the other hand, oh he was so different. Not simply to her, but to every other agent, and from every other agent who walked the halls of the SSR building. He wasn't cocky like Thompson, or a Lothario like Krzeminski, and he didn't look at her like she was some lost kitten, the way Dooley, her commanding officer here, often did.  
"Sooner or later, word of this double agent suspicion will be rampant through out the office" she glanced furtively at the other agents who milled about, working on their cases, or collaborating fraternally. Questions sprang into Peggy's mind,  
"Was there any agent who ever accused others of being double agents as a way to divert attention from themselves?" she looked at Agent Yauch and Agent Wallace, seemingly model agents, at least inconspicuous, and even more queries flashed in her mind, "Were there any agents who were excessively helpful – offering to ferry people to protests, take them home afterwards, or any who had a vehicle, in which he'd offer to make available to transport fellow agents to and from?"  
She looked up from her thoughts to Daniel. He seemed rather helpful. What if he was too helpful? Would he volunteer for tedious tasks which, while doing the rest of the team a favor, allow him access to data? "God, the whole thing could be wholly detrimental" she shuddered as she realized the enormity of everything.  
Just then, Chief Dooley shouted from his office  
"Flynn, get in here" he bellowed, "now!"  
The bespectacled man rushed in. Peggy shook her head in dismay as she saw this. Flynn was, as far as she was concerned, one step above a lap dog. If Agent Thompson was Dooley's golden boy, then Flynn was Dooley's walking boot-lick, always currying favor.  
The door closed behind them.  
Peggy pursed her lips. If anyone might be a double agent, Flynn was a suitable contender.  
"How about that?" Daniel whistled.  
"How about what?" Peggy inquired.  
"This" Daniel swiveled around in his desk chair, "seems like Project Rebirth was a highly-classified United States government project, the goal of which was the creation of Super-Soldiers to be deployed in the war against the Axis Powers"  
"You do understand how well versed I am with that?" Peggy sighed  
"Yeah" Daniel was curt, but continued, "blood samples were taken by scientists, from Rogers, in hopes of replicating the serum after Dr. Erskine's death"  
"Do go on" Peggy had lived this. She didn't want to hear it again  
"No" Daniel stood up, with some effort, plugged his arm into his crutch and tossed the folder of papers on her desk, "You know everything about this, right? Then you can read it yourself" he turned and stalked off as best he could.  
Peggy looked at the folder with dismay. She'd been so focused on her own point of view, she hadn't stopped to think about Daniel. Everyone cracked jokes about Steve and her, often within earshot. She knew fully well why people thought she was an agent, and their feelings had nothing to do with her sharpshooting skills. She sighed and opened the folder. There was no use going after Daniel now. Silently, she read,  
"After Erskine's death, the shooter, Heinz Kruger ultimately committed suicide with a cyanide pill. Erskine's serum was lost, as the vial Kruger had was destroyed in his flight from Rogers; the project was disbanded. Blood samples were taken from Rogers by scientists and Peggy Carter in hopes of recovering the serum; of the twelve samples taken, one was given to Howard Stark."  
"That was why everyone was looking through Howard's work" she realized, "they're searching for that vial." she closed the folder, "There might be no double agent at all!"  
Peggy stood to refile the folder back where it belonged. She walked the length of the bullpen over to the file room. She overheard a few fellow agents in the break room, listening to the radio. She frowned in anger as she heard what they were listening to,  
"And now it's time for "The Captain America Adventure Program," brought to you by Roxxon motor oil. Tonight's thrilling tale takes us deep into the heart of the Ardennes Forest, where Hitler's Nazi guard have ambushed the 107th Infantry and taken Betty Carver, the battalion's beautiful triage nurse as their hostage."  
Peggy kept walking, not looking back. She shoved the file into its proper slot in the alphabetical lineup, and left the storage room.  
No sooner had she reached her desk than the phone rang. She picked it up within two rings and smiled at the response,  
"Steve, do you have any time off?"  
"I really can't do anything now" his voice sounded tinny over the phone line, "but, I couldn't leave my best girl."  
Peggy's smile faded. She'd heard that phrase, except it hadn't come from him.  
It had come on the Captain America Adventure Program.  
Steve continued,  
"I thought we could go out tonight" he paused, "Maybe see a movie?"  
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go out with Betty Carver?" she scowled and hung up the phone.  
"Agent Carter" Chief Dooley called out, "A word, please?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Agent Flynn here has noted that you seem preoccupied with both Project Rebirth as well as your friend Howard Stark" Chief Dooley explained  
"Sir, if I may-" Peggy began  
"You may not" Dooley cut her off, "Agent Flynn has informed me that there's some talk of double agents in my midst" his face looked hard, "I will not be taken advantage of by Captain America's girlfriend"  
Peggy glared at her commanding officer, but squelched it. She knew exactly where she'd heard the phrase before, and it hadn't come from Chief Dooley. "It came from that lecherous toad standing next to him" she eyed John Flynn with disgust.  
"Sir" she began again, speaking to Dooley, "With all due respect, you can't really think that I'm involved with Howard Stark in keeping something from you and the SSR"  
"I don't know what to think, frankly" Dooley was candid, "There's rumors going around about double agents, and that's on top of this business with Stark and Erskine's formula. Damn it, now that we're at peace times, we've got to keep that peace"  
"A fine idea, sir" Flynn chimed in.  
Peggy wanted to beat him with whatever office equipment lay at hand.  
"Yes sir, I can understand that we're here to – to keep the peace" she managed, "but I seriously doubt that an army of men like Captain Rogers can be what the government truly wants"  
"If it'll keep the Commie bastards away, and the Japs, then maybe, maybe we'll be alright" Dooley exhaled.  
"If there is a double agent, sir" Flynn cut in, "wouldn't it be ideal to have one pose as one of the most inconspicuous posts as possible, doing the most menial, secretarial work imaginable"  
"Perhaps" Dooley nodded, acting as if Peggy wasn't there at all.  
"Sir, you can't really be suggesting that-" she began  
"Like I said, I don't know what to think" Dooley frowned, seeming both angry at himself as well as at Peggy. He glanced over to the photo of his son and daughter that stood on the shelf behind him, and then back to Flynn. "You're dismissed. I'd like to speak to Agent Carter alone"  
"But- " Flynn began, clearly flustered.  
"Alone" Dooley repeated, firmly.  
After Flynn had left the office, Dooley sat down at his desk.  
"During the war, you were one of our best agents" he conceded, "but the war's over" he sighed  
"I know that, sir"  
"Do you?" he looked up quizzically at her, "You're traipsing about with Rogers, pulling in agents like Sousa behind you. You're not Nancy Drew"  
Peggy glanced through the office window to see Agent Flynn speaking with Daniel. Peggy frowned, worried about what the spineless man would tell Sousa.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dooley reprimanded her.  
Peggy quickly turned back from the window to see her supervisor looking angrily at her,  
"Well, I was about to go back to my desk to start some data analysis and code breaking."  
"Don't get cute with me, Lady. You can't just go about half cocked like that spouting rumors about double agents. God, there are protocols in place," he fumed, "No one is above protocols- not even Captain America's old flame."  
Peggy colored, "How dare you?"  
"Please, let's stop pretending, shall we? Everyone knows why you're here," he looked haggared and his voice softened, but he still had traces of disgust in his tone  
Peggy was sarcastic, "Please, enlighten me."  
"You were worthwhile in the war effort, but now the war's over- so they kept you on, so that you would feel useful."  
Peggy frowned, "I call it pity. If they wanted to make me feel useful, they wouldn't have made me work with you."  
Dooley was cold, "You're going to answer for that" he paused, "come to think of it, how do I know you're not the double agent. Come with me"  
"I don't have to go anywhere with you" she held her ground.  
Dooley took her arm, "Yes you do"  
He force marched her into an interrogation room, "I think I know exactly who can make you speak the truth"  
After fuming in the cold gray room for what seemed like hours but might've only been moments, Dooley came back, but he wasn't alone.  
"Steve?" Peggy was visibly flabbergasted  
"He's SSR, just as much as anyone here" Dooley explained, "and I've filled him in on what's been going on here"  
"How could you even think that I'm responsible for any of this?" Peggy shot back  
"You were close to Stark, and we want his information, and there's nobody else who could've gotten to it in such a short time" Dooley went on, "I'll leave you boys to it"  
Peggy glanced from Jack Thompson to Daniel Sousa, to Steve Rogers.  
Steve spoke first, "I'm confused."  
Daniel was next, "I'm sick." He spat out  
Finally, Jack Thompson spoke, "I'm impressed"  
Peggy stared him down with anger.  
Thompson went on, "You're good, Carter. Holy cow, you are good. I got a dozen fellow agents in there who wish they could play the game half as well as you.  
Peggy was firm, "I'm not playing a game. I never was."  
"Maybe Flynn was right" Daniel began  
"Don't you dare, Daniel Sousa" Peggy was livid. The entire squadroom knew about his crush on her, and while she hadn't given it much thought, this seemed to be the last straw for her.  
She glared at the three men, and lashed out at them,  
"You think you know me, but I've never been more than what each of you has created. To you," she eyed Steve, "I'm the stray kitten, left on your doorstep to be protected" she glared at Jack Thompson, "The secretary turned damsel in distress" finally, she scowled at Daniel, "The girl on the pedestal, transformed into some daft whore. You're behaving like children."  
"A likely story" Daniel glared at her  
"Oh, is that what Agent Flynn told you?" she smiled coyly at him.  
"It makes sense" Daniel explained, "you're the only one who could've gone in and out without being noticed"  
"Because I'm invisible?" she shot back, "Daniel, you of all people know what that's like- to be invisible, to be nothing, to be part of the furniture, if you will"  
"Peggy, if you have something to say, to confess, it might be a good time to do it" Steve began  
"Don't you dare lecture me on confessing. Why, you wanted to be a soldier so badly, and look, now you're just like the rest of them" she glanced out of the door's small embedded window. Several agents were milling about; including Ray Krzeminski, staring in through the window at Steve as though the room contained Clark Gable rather than mere SSR agents.  
"Something's not right here. I saw what you did for the country during the war. What you did on those missions. You're a straight shooter. This doesn't add up" Steve sighed  
Peggy glared at him, "That's because I had nothing to do with the theft of Howard Stark's information or his inventions"  
"Theft?" Daniel laughed derisively, "Wow. He's really got you wrapped around his finger, doesn't he? I got to give it to him. He's as good as they say."  
Peggy stared at him "What do you mean, "As good as they say"?"  
Daniel nearly spat out the words, "He got in so deep; he scrambled your brain."  
Peggy glared at him, her eyes alight with fire, "Howard Stark has never" she emphasized the term, "scrambled my mind or any other part of me."  
"Maybe you should see the resident shrink" Thompson joked.  
Peggy had a brainwave. "A psychologist? Do tell me more"  
"What's to tell? You were off gallivanting around the city with the defective detective here" Thompson motioned towards Daniel, "and in the meantime, you didn't know that we had a refugee from war torn Russia offer to help out with the shell shocked soldiers" he paused for effect, "of course, you were only worried about one particular soldier" he smirked, alluding to Steve, even though he was right there in the room with them.  
"Dr. Fennhoff" Peggy repeated slowly, the wheels turning in her sharply honed mind, "and he's been seeing the agents for – shell shock, as you say?" she mulled it over, "and how long has he been working with the agents?"  
"We'll ask the questions around here" Daniel slammed his available hand onto the table that stood between him and Peggy.  
"See that you do" she was firm, "but be ready for answers that you do not wish to receive. To be fair, you are quite probably literally inches away from the man responsible when you forced me into this - this inquisition. That's simply shoddy police work"  
She eyed them one at a time, "You think you know me, and yet unless I bring you coffee or your reports or your lunch" she stared them down, "I am invisible."  
The men glanced uneasily from one to another; Peggy continued,  
"You" she eyed Jack Thompson, "want to be the top agent, perhaps gunning for an administrative position, but you are a laze about, ready to let other agents do your work for you" she moved on to Daniel, "you want to be seen as a stand up agent, someone worth having value, yet you get swayed by popular opinion", she continued onto Steve, "And you, the American hero, but yet you rest on your proverbial laurels instead of bettering yourself in times of peace" she shook her head in dismissal, "you can lock me up and hold me here indefinitely, but that will not bring about justice in the least. Rather, you'll be disavowing the one person who might be able to help you"  
The men looked from one to another. A decision had to be made right now.


	10. Chapter 10

"Watch her" Thompson instructed Sousa, "I've got an – appointment" he left the room abruptly after looking at his wristwatch.  
Steve stood up as well; "I'm sorry" he looked at Peggy. He sounded sincere.  
"I'm sure" she looked at Steve with pure loathing. Then again, when she looked back at Daniel, she threw daggers at him with her eyes, as well.  
Once the two men had gone, Daniel sighed, "I don't know what to think anymore"  
"How about you bury this dichotomous complex you have about women—or is it simply about me?" she eyed him knowingly.  
Daniel flustered and blushed  
"You're a horrid actor" she smiled genuinely, "and I know you don't really want to do this"  
"You know less about me than you think" he was gruff  
"I took notes last week when you interviewed the destitute witness" she began, "you know, you're not the only person here who feels like they're not very valuable" she uncharacteristically looked down momentarily.  
"It wasn't just to get a confession" Daniel conceded, "I see how people look at me"  
"Like you don't matter?" Peggy filled in, "Like you shouldn't be there?"  
"That too" Daniel agreed, "and that my mere presence makes them feel guilty for what they have"  
"I used to know someone who felt just like that" Peggy spoke candidly, "and yes, there are times I feel that way. You know that"  
"Yeah, I do" Daniel rubbed the back of his neck with his available hand, "but you handle yourself well enough"  
"As do you" she smiled, but then the smile faded, "and if you listen to yourself, really listen to what you know is true, you'll know that I have no part in any theft of Howard's information, let alone any of his inventions. I've been either here in the squadroom, or with you whenever these items were supposed to have been stolen"  
"I want to believe that, Peggy" Daniel sighed, "I really do"  
"But?" she supplied

In Fennhoff's office, Jack Thompson let his feelings show,  
"Everybody thinks that I'm this guy that I never was. And every day it gets harder and harder to live with" he looked down at his shoes,  
"Please, continue" Fennhoff requested  
"The soldiers that came into my camp in Okinawa, the ones I killed. They were coming to surrender. I just didn't realize it until it was too late. I buried the flag before anyone else saw it. I slaughtered every one of them, and all they were doing was coming to surrender peacefully. What do I get for being a coward? I get a Navy Cross" he sighed  
"I see" Fennhoff steepled the fingers of his hands, "You feel remorse for what you have done. Is it not a soldier's job to kill?"  
"Not like that" Thompson looked up at the doctor.  
"There is time for healing, Agent Thompson. You wish to be the man that everyone thinks that you are- a hero- yes? Then you must focus, focus on the sound of my voice"  
Thompson stared off at a space beside Fennhoff's head, seemingly dazed.  
"Good. What I need you to do is leave this room, retrieve your belongings, like you would for the end of your shift. I need you to go to your favorite bar. Order a bourbon- only the best. Top-shelf. Savor that bourbon. Enjoy it. And when you have finished, I need you to step outside and do one more thing" he continued.  
Once Thompson had his instructions, he stood, left the room and walked down the hallway.

In the interrogation room, Peggy posed a question,  
"Just what did Agent Flynn tell you earlier today?"  
Daniel sat in his chair with his arms crossed. When it was obvious that Peggy wasn't about to budge from her standpoint, he finally sighed, "He said that he pulled some strings so that the rest of Stark's inventions were kept safe in a secure storage room here" he explained, "and that he couldn't trust you as far as he could throw you"  
"The sniveling coward" Peggy thought silently. To Daniel, she replied, "I see" she nodded knowingly.  
"Agent Thompson asked you to watch me" she went on, "Do you do everything that he tells you to?"  
Daniel frowned in anger.

Thompson had finished his bourbon, and paid for his drink. Then, after wearing his hat and nodding to the other bar patrons, including Steve Rogers; Thompson stepped out of the establishment and onto the street, not noticing that it was midday traffic whizzing by him.  
Steve, nursing a drink which doing absolutely nothing for him, took but a momentary glance to connect the honking horns behind him with Thompson's step outside the bar and into the street. Like a rocket, Rogers was on the sidewalk and then in the street. He grabbed Jack by his arm and yanked him back onto the sidewalk and off the pavement.  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at Thompson, "Do you have a death wish or something?"  
"I – uh" the SSR agent stammered a response

"Come on" Daniel led Peggy to the storage room even though she knew fully well where the room was located. Most of the items were strewn about on tables, their information cards haphazardly tossed about. She grabbed for a device with two probes marked Blitzkrieg Button, and then a large spherical item marked Stark Heat Vest. She wasn't sure what they might be useful for, but it looked easier to carry them then try to haul around some of the larger equipment pieces. At the worst, Howard might be able to contact them and explain things.  
"Where are we headed to now?" Daniel looked confused.  
"The first place we're going is to visit the good doctor" Peggy explained.  
They'd no sooner reached the office when Dr. Johann Fennhoff met them at the open door.  
"Stop right there" he warned, his pistol trained on the agents.  
"Nothing doing" Daniel used his crutch to swing upward and knocked the gun from Fennhoff's hand. Peggy aimed and hurled the item marked Heat Vest at the doctor's head. The spherical object made a wide arc but struck its mark right on target. Fennhoff fell like a sack of bricks. Peggy went to restrain him, but the doctor reared up and punched her between her eyes. The agent was dazed, but put her fists up, ready to brawl, her pistol had fallen to the floor. They made a scramble for the fallen item, as Fennhoff's gun lay across the office.  
He looked up and realized his chance, "Agent Sousa" he smiled  
"Don't listen to him, Daniel" Peggy warned  
Fennhoff grabbed for the pistol.  
"Get away from her or I will shoot!" Daniel stared down Fennhoff  
The doctor, on the other hand, spoke in a calm, soothing voice, "I am unarmed, Agent Sousa"  
"Leave her alone" Daniel instructed  
"You will not shoot an unarmed man. It is not in your nature" Fennhoff continued, "Unlike Agent Carter here, you are virtuous" he sighed, "The war has damaged us all, has it not, Agent Sousa? We will never be the men we once were."  
"I'm not listening to you" Daniel frowned  
"I have treated many injured soldiers, Agent Sousa, helped them to overcome their pain. All you have to do is focus. Focus on your pain" Fennhoff sighed and motioned with his available hand, as one held the pistol, "The men that you work with, they see you as broken- half a man. And Agent Carter" he gestured to her, "I see how you look at her, but she will never value you for the man that you are. How can she? She feels only pity. But we can change all that if you just focus. Point your weapon at her- and pull the trigger" he smiled.  
"Daniel, no" Peggy implored, "You've got to break out of this and shoot him, now"  
"Focus on my voice" Fennhoff nodded, "and pull the trigger on her. She feels only pity for you"  
"Daniel" Peggy  
"What the hell is going on?" Roger Dooley appeared at the open doorway.  
Daniel blinked and looked down at the pistol in his hand while Johann Fennhoff trained his on the SSR chief and fired point blank across the office space.  
Dooley fell in a heap by the door frame.  
Daniel neared Peggy and Fennhoff, his gun still aimed on her.  
"Good" Fennhoff smiled, the smoking pistol still in his hand, "Focus, simply focus"  
Peggy, usually collected under fire, stood there unarmed, caught between two men with guns trained on her. She had to do something. She reached forward and elbowed Fennhoff in his ribs.  
Daniel stepped forward and cold cocked the doctor with the butt of his pistol. Fennhoff fell to the floor.  
"Chief" Peggy rushed to Dooley while Daniel held Fennhoff down with his crutch.  
Dooley looked up at her, "Tell—tell my wife—I'm sorry I missed dinner" he glanced over at Fennhoff lying in a heap on the floor, "I'm glad you got the son of a bitch who did this" he smiled weakly, "Atta girl"  
And then, he was gone.  
Peggy looked over at Daniel. He was already looking at her. No words needed to be said.  
They knew their lives were changed  
Forever


	11. Chapter 11

The medical team arrived quickly and took Roger Dooley's body away.  
"How did you know?" Thompson scratched his head and gawked at Peggy.  
"To be quite honest, I didn't" she was candid, "but something that you mentioned made me think of just that, how much I'd missed during my investigation. Part of being a detective is looking at all the clues, however scattered they might be"  
Daniel stared at her in amazement, "but you knew how to piece things together, things that most agents would've ignored. Things most agents did ignore!"  
Peggy blushed. She turned to hide her face. It was then, while looking at the aftermath, after the security team had taken Johann Fennhoff to prison, that Peggy noticed the spherical device, which she'd thrown at Fennhoff to disarm him, had now cracked open. Rather, it had opened up via a button having being pressed on the device. Inside, lay a single test tube, It didn't take a genius to realize what that held. She bent down and picked up the vial.  
"This was the last of Steve Rogers' blood" Peggy held the tube and explained to her fellow agents, Thompson, Sousa, and others. "It was listed as having being given to Howard Stark, and I suppose he hoped to save it to keep it from being squandered in hopes of recreating more men like Steve Rogers.  
"What's so special about it?" Jack Thompson quipped, "He's still around. Hell, he saved my neck today. Can't you just get more of his blood?"  
"Of course they can" Daniel answered, "the files said that—"  
"The files were wrong" Peggy's voice cut through Daniel's explanation  
"But—" Daniel began  
Peggy sighed, "This blood was the last of the pre serum vials that were taken from him. There were twelve in all. I should know because I was there" she held up the vial, "After the – transformation as it were, the chemical makeup of his cells, and his blood, had irreversibly changed and it was hard to tell where the serum began and Steve ended"  
"Scientists hoped that whatever made him, well him, might lead to making more soldiers like him" Daniel realized aloud.  
"Quite so" Peggy agreed, "but unfortunately" she smiled wanly, "or fortunately the man that Steve Rogers was before his transformation is not something that can be taken through a syringe, or bottled up, or manufactured. That is a man's heart; a man who dedicated his mind, his body, his life to the SSR and to this country. No one can replicate that in some test tube"  
Peggy looked up to find not only her fellow SSR agents watching her, but in the back, a head taller than some, Steve Rogers.  
His face was as readable as a telegraph or newspaper headline.  
After everyone else had dispersed, Peggy sought out Steve  
"I had to speak with you" she began, "I should've said this quite awhile ago"  
"Yeah" he nodded, "I kind of guessed you might"  
There was a pause.  
"The world has changed, Steve" she began, "And none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes, the best that we can do, is to start over"  
"I guess I'll need a rain check on that dance" he forced a smile.  
Peggy glanced around the quiet office. Other agents milled about outside, working. Nobody seemed to be paying them much attention. She shut the door and turned back to him,  
"We already said a week's time. Perhaps its best we keep with our plans" she looked him over, "Saturday at the Stork Club"  
"You got it" he slipped his hands into his pockets, most uncharacteristically. Being around her sometimes gave Peggy a glimpse of how the old Steve had been, confident in a crisis, but unsure of himself around her. He was like that at times, one on one, just with her, but around other people, he was completely different.  
"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late; understood?" she instructed  
"You know, I still don't know how to dance" he gestured with his hands  
"I'll show you how. Just be there."  
"We'll have the band play something slow" he suggested, "I'd hate to step on your-"  
"Agent Carter" Thompson poked his head through the doorway, interrupting them, "You need to fill out these papers" he began, "on how you captured the doctor after you realized what he'd been doing"  
"Yes" she nodded. Here was paperwork, given to her not because she was a woman, or because she was invisible, or because she was thought to be inferior, but because she'd done her job well.  
"Which one of you fellows is Jack Thompson?"  
No sooner had he handed off the paperwork to her than Jack Thompson turned as someone called his name. He walked out into the hallway.  
"That's me" Jack extended his hand.  
"Walt Cooper, United States Senate" the man smiled and shook Thompson's hand, "I just wanted to come down here and personally thank you for the fine work you and your team did here"  
"Uh, thank you, sir" Jack grinned.  
Peggy glanced from the office and spied the scene  
"A brainwashing doctor here in the heart of the city. I hear you saved thousands of lives by putting him away. The city and the country owe you a great debt" he turned to face the others in the hallway, "We need many more men like Jack Thompson fighting for freedom and security!" Cooper announced, "You're all lucky that you work for him"  
Thompson looked pained. "I just did what needed to be done" he finally replied.  
Cooper clapped his arm around Thompson's back and they walked down the hall to what had been Dooley's office, "Why you play your cards right, and you could have a Congressional Medal of Honor out of this"  
Jack laughed.  
"The President wants to thank you himself" Cooper went on, meaning Truman.  
Daniel hobbled in the room after hearing the conversation. He looked upset.  
"How can you just sit there and take that?" he sounded frustrated, "I'm going to tell that senator what really happened" he turned on his crutch and was ready to head out the door when Peggy held him back,  
"It really doesn't bother me"  
"Well it bothers the hell out of me!" Daniel glared at her, "you deserve that medal. Hell, you deserve to run this place. You're the best we've got"  
"Daniel" she looked at him, and then at Steve, "I don't need a Congressional Honor. I don't need Agent Thompson's approval or the President's" she looked contemplative, "I know my value" she explained, "anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter"  
With that, she walked out of the office, down the hall and back toward her desk.  
In the office, Daniel and Steve looked on as she walked away.

At the Stork Club, it was Saturday night, and the place was really jumping. A big band was playing, and the club was packed with patrons. Peggy watched as Steve slowly walked around the dance hall. Flashbulbs popped in his face and he winced in response. She had no way of knowing that for him, momentarily, he saw the flashes of light as fire from rifles. Peggy smiled as she eyed a foursome talking, However, to Steve, the pair of men looked like they were going to fight, pushing each other back and forth in anger, but when Steve looked again, he saw them hug each other with love as their dates looked on warmly. Peggy noticed Daniel sitting a few feet away, alone at a table, then she turned back to Steve, when another camera flashbulb popped in his face, he seemed to only see a man down on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest, his friend kneeling over him. Steve rushed to help the fallen man, but stopped short. The man on the ground was laughing, his char having been knocked backward. The man kneeling over him patted at the red stain on the fallen man's chest, which was visible as merely red wine. Steve shook his head in disbelief as Peggy looked worriedly at her dance partner. What was happening to him?  
Meanwhile, Ray Krzeminski sat down across from Daniel.  
"Told you" Krzeminski smirked, "a shield for a crutch" he laughed.  
"Yeah" Daniel sighed, "So, who did you bring here tonight, your wife or your girlfriend?"  
"Har har" Ray frowned, "maybe you should hope she has a friend for you"  
"No thanks" Daniel shook his head, "Anything that finds you attractive has to be missing a few bricks short of a load"  
"She likes my load just fine" Krzeminski laughed, "Here she is now" he glanced over to where a woman was heading toward the table, "This is my gal" he smiled, "Dot"  
The blonde smiled demurely at Daniel. Daniel just sighed and grunted in response.  
On the dance floor, Peggy sighted a nurse from a few feet away and flagged her over.  
"My friend is having some sort of attack"  
"Shell shock" the blonde nurse responded, "I was visiting a friend who'd moved from California, and was honestly hoping for a little break, but I guess a woman's work is never done"  
"You have no idea" Peggy gave her a knowing look  
Steve sat down in a chair and the nurse checked him over.  
"Ok, watch my finger" she moved her index digit from one side to the other as Steve's eyes followed it.  
"Thanks" he nodded absently, "Uh—"  
"Violet" she smiled  
"Violet" he repeated  
Peggy looked on. Steve Rogers had wanted to be a solder so badly, and then he got his chance. Now he was a soldier, and as Peggy turned the events over in her mind, she realized that perhaps that was all he could be now. As much as Dr. Erskine had hoped that Steve would remain the good man that he was, and to be truthful, Steve had remained one, but the man she knew, the man she loved, was somewhere else, replaced with –  
"A good soldier" she sighed.  
"Ms. Carter" a staff member at the club tapped her on her shoulder, "There's someone here to see you at entrance"  
"Oh" Peggy looked blankly at the attendant, "of course"  
At the entrance, she was surprised to see her four friends standing there.  
"Howard" she lightly admonished him, "Fancy meeting you here"  
"I heard so much about this place that I had to come by" he laughed  
"And I see you've brought a date"  
"Hi English" Angie smiled  
"Something like that" Howard grinned  
"And Mr. Jarvis, it is good to see you again"  
"Likewise, Ms. Carter" he smiled good naturedly, "and you remember my wife, Ana"  
"Of course" Peggy nodded. The women hugged.  
"She's a hugger" Jarvis noted.  
"I have to get back to – my" Peggy stumbled over the words. She couldn't understand why this was difficult for her to say.  
Angie gazed over the crowd and saw who Peggy was alluding to, "Captain Rogers is here" she smiled, "I saw him once at a USO show in Passaic, you could eat him with a spoon"  
"Thanks for the tip" Howard joked.  
"We're at a table there. Please everyone, join us and make yourselves comfortable" Peggy smiled, "I've got something I have to take care of"  
She made her way through the tables and found the one she was looking for.  
"Uh, hey" Daniel smiled, "I was going to grab a drink. Want to join me?"  
"I do" she smiled back, "but first I want you to come sit with us"  
"You and Captain – " he began  
"Come sit with my friends" she corrected, "I'm sure you've got a lot in common with them, and with me" she continued, "and" she took his right hand in hers, "I do hope you're in the mood for a dance. I've been looking for the right partner" she squeezed his hand in hers.


End file.
